The Princess and the Goblin - online book

A Children's Fantasy Book By George MacDonald - illustrated version.

and then sat down and listened. The king, evidently the queen, and probably the crown-prince and the Prime Minister were talking to­gether. He was sure of the queen by her shoes, for as she warmed her feet at the fire, he saw them quite plainly.

"That will be fun!" said the one he took for the crown-prince.

It was the first whole sentence he heard.

" I don't see why you should think it such a grand affair!" said his stepmother, tossing her head backward.

"You must remember, my spouse," interposed his majesty, as if making excuse for his son, "he has got the same blood in him. His mother------"

"Don't talk to me of his mother! You posi­tively encourage his unnatural fancies. What­ever belongs to that mother, ought to be cut out of him."

" You forget yourself, my dear!" said the king.

"I don't," said the queen, "nor you either. If you expect me to approve of such coarse tastes, you will find yourself mistaken. / don't wear shoes for nothing."